


The Met: #15

by Ignisentis



Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A Date!!!, Idiots in Love, M/M, Pepper and Tony are good Bros, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Zero Knowledge of How The Met Actually Works, soft and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisentis/pseuds/Ignisentis
Summary: Bucky takes Steve on a date to The Met.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602352
Comments: 21
Kudos: 159





	The Met: #15

**Author's Note:**

> It's date time!!!!

“Hey,” Bucky says to Steve when he emerges from the bathroom, damp from his post-run shower. “Don’t make any plans for Thursday, okay?”

“Ooh, what’s happening on Thursday?”

“I guess you’ll find out.”

“Not gonna give me any hints, huh?”

“Nope.”

“Bucky, are you…” Bucky looks over at Steve when he trails off, and his heart flops over in his chest. Steve is standing a few feet away, looking down at Bucky where he’s sitting on the couch, book in his lap. Steve’s hands are on his hips, but his eyes are half-lidded, his mouth soft around the edges. He’s working something over in his head, and he likes the idea, and he’s so beautiful it makes Bucky’s teeth ache.

Steve sits down on the couch and twists so he’s facing Bucky. “You taking me out somewhere, sweetheart?”

“Maybe,” Bucky hedges with a wry grin, picking up his book to try and hide the blush he inexplicably feels working its way up his neck. He doesn’t even bat an eye at the filth that pours out of Steve’s mouth when they’re in bed, but start talking about a date and he’s suddenly some sort of ingenue. Go figure.

“Buck,” Steve says, even softer than before, and Bucky can hear the smile in his voice, the adorable bastard. Bucky chances a glance at him, and yep, he’s reached nuclear levels of cute.

“Ugh,” Bucky grunts, “stop it. You’re literally so cute it’s making me angry.”

Steve smiles even wider, and that’s it, Bucky has to get his hands on him  _ right this fucking instant. _ He tosses his book aside and lunges at Steve, digging his fingers into his ribs, to Steve’s howling delight.

~~~

Thursday morning  _ finally _ rolls around. Bucky took advantage of Steve’s propensity for rising early and told him to be ready to leave their apartment by 8:00am. Steve is practically vibrating out of his skin by the time they clamber into the car Tony let them use. Bucky had asked Pepper for help planning the date, and Tony had walked in while they were talking about options, and he’d insisted that they let Happy drive them wherever they ended up going. Bucky tried to refuse, but then Tony said something about how Happy would be over the moon if he got to do this for them, so he relented. He put his foot down when Tony suggested the car could be full of red roses when they got in, though. Nothing against roses, but that many feels wasteful.

So of course there’s one bouquet of tastefully presented flowers waiting in the car. Steve “awwwww’s” and buries his face in the flowers to get a good whiff, snuffling away happily as he tries to buckle in at the same time.

Happy really does look like this is the best assignment of his life, so Bucky relaxes a little and nods when he asks if they’re ready to go. Steve tries to pump Happy for information, but the man works for Tony, so he very obviously knows how to keep a secret, and he doesn’t give anything away. Steve had tried his best to get Bucky to tell him what they were doing today, but Bucky’d also held firm, so today’s agenda is a complete surprise.

Bucky can tell it’s killing him a little, but Steve does his best not to try and guess where they’re going every time they make a turn. But when Happy stops the car and puts the flashers on, Steve looks out the window and exclaims, “The Met? Are we going to The Met?”

“Yeah, we’re going to The Met. Come on, baby, let’s go.”

“Enjoy your day, gentlemen. I’ll be back to get you for lunch,” Happy says.

Bucky holds his arm out and Steve gasps dramatically and takes it. “Wait, is it even open yet?” he asks as they make their way inside.

“Nope!” Bucky chirps cheerfully. They head in, and Steve immediately starts looking around at everything he can see in the lobby area. He’s been here before, of course he has, but Bucky thinks it’s been a few years at least. Bucky checks the time and sees they’re right on schedule. He looks around and finds a woman walking toward them, so he leads Steve in her direction.

“Mr. Barnes, Mr. Rogers,” she says as she approaches, holding out her hand for them to shake in turn. “My name is Dr. Kim Benzel, and I’m the Curator in Charge of the Near Eastern Art we have here at the museum.”

“Steve, please,” he says as he shakes her hand, and she nods.

“Bucky,” Bucky says as he takes his own turn. 

“Bucky. It’s so nice to be able to put a face to the voice,” she says, smiling. Oh, Bucky could kiss her for that. Judging by the look on Steve’s face when he glances over, he’s thinking the same thing, too.

“So Bucky and I planned for me to take both of you through our Near Eastern collection that we have on display and talk about the pieces, answer any questions you may have, that sort of thing. We have an hour and a half until the museum opens, so we can cover a lot of the collection, I should think. When it starts getting crowded, we can go back and view some of the pieces that aren’t on display.”

“That — that sounds  _ incredible, _ thank you,” Steve gushes.

Dr. Benzel — “Kim, please,” she insists — leads the way. The art is incredible, and Kim is an amazing guide. But the true joy for Bucky is watching Steve. A few weeks ago, Steve brought home some books from the library about Ancient Near Eastern art. He’d curl up on the couch and bury his nose in the books and wouldn’t surface for hours. Bucky found sketch after sketch of pieces from the books or the Avengers, Assyrian style in Steve’s sketchbook in the following days. So watching him be able to see some pieces in person, with an extremely knowledgeable curator giving them a private tour? Well, Bucky was eating that right up.

Steve was so exuberant and expressive, and he was asking really good questions, and Bucky could watch him be passionate for hours and hours. After the first 45 minutes, Bucky noticed Steve’s fingers would twitch every so often when he looked at some art or sculpture that he particularly liked, and Bucky remembered the small notebook and pencil he’d slid into his pocket before they left this morning.

“Hey,” Bucky says to Steve, pulling out the notebook and pencil and holding it up for Steve to take.

Steve looks at the notebook and pencil and gasps a little, eyes widening. “Bucky,” he whispers, apparently overcome, as he leans in and presses his lips to Bucky’s. It’s a sweet, little kiss, but it lingers long after Steve’s pulled away. Bucky flushes a little when he remembers Kim and looks over to her. She looks like she’s just seen a puppy with a butterfly on its nose. Bucky snorts and ducks his head, trying to hide behind his hair a little.

Once the museum opens and people start filing in, they all decide to head back to the staff only area to check out some pieces Kim pulled specifically for them to see. Steve’s really excited about this part, and he’s asking all sorts of questions about curation and preservation and acquisition and repatriation as they make their way to the back rooms.

Eventually, Bucky’s stomach starts rumbling, and when he checks the time, it’s close to 1:00. Steve’s stomach rumbles next, and they apologize to Kim, who waves them off with a smile. They thank her for her time, Steve profusely, and she says, “let me assure you, it was my absolute pleasure. Most of my colleagues were extremely jealous that I got to do this with you both today, so if you ever want to tour a different collection, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’d love to have you both back.”

“You know, we may just take you up on that,” Steve says, smiling.

“Please do. Here’s my card. Feel free to call or email at any time, and I can get you in touch with the right people for a tour. Or if you have any questions about our collection and what you’ve seen today.”

Steve takes her card and slips it in his pocket.

“Oh, and one last thing: would you two like a picture together?” she asks.

“Yes, please!” Bucky says, unlocking and handing her his phone. Steve steps next to him and slips his arm around Bucky’s waist. He looks at Bucky, and that’s when Kim takes the first picture. He looks at her and smiles, and she takes a few more.

“Thanks,” Bucky says when she hands him back his phone. “Do you…?”

“No, I’m fine,” she says, and Bucky could kiss her again. She leads them back to the main exhibit area and says goodbye, waving as she walks away.

Steve leans in for another kiss, not caring that they’re surrounded by people in the gallery now. “Lunch?” he asks when he pulls away.

“Lunch,” Bucky says. He texts Happy, who’s waiting for them when they head back outside. He takes them to some cute little bistro halfway between the Tower and the Met, and they get seated at the reserved booth tucked into a back corner. It’s pretty private, and Bucky decides that he loves it. Good choice, Pepper.

Their server comes with menus, then drinks a few minutes later, and they place their order. He doesn’t even blink when they order a massive amount of food. 

Steve places his hand on the table, palm up, wiggling his fingers until Bucky puts his hand on top of Steve’s. Steve starts rubbing his thumb across the back of Bucky’s hand, and he takes a moment to just look at Bucky. 

“Did Pepper help you plan all this?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah.”

Steve beams at him. “I’m glad. It was a perfect date, Buck, thank you. I loved it.”

Bucky smiles back, ducking his head in the face of Steve’s overwhelming earnestness. “Me too.”

~~~

Three weeks later, Bucky grabs Steve’s phone to look something up. His is across the room, and he’s feeling lazy, and anyway, Steve’s is  _ right there.  _ He unlocks the phone, warmth speeding out from his chest when he sees the lock screen: it’s the photo from their date at the Met, the one where Steve’s looking at him like he’s the best thing Steve’s ever seen. Bucky smiles and touches his fingertip to Steve’s face in the photo before opening the browser and typing in his question.

**Author's Note:**

> I have been to The Met exactly one time, and that was years ago. I did a little research, and Dr. Kim Benzel is a real person, and she really is the Curator in Charge of the Near Eastern Art Collection at The Met. Would she actually give tours? No idea, but in this fic, she jumps at the chance to spend some time with Steve and Bucky in a professional capacity. As would many people, I should think. 
> 
> Anyway, from what I could find, The Met does do private tours, and they do offer tours before opening, but I don't think they work exactly how I mentioned. I imagine money and connections and fame will open many doors, and anyway, our boys deserve nice things sometimes. 
> 
> As for Steve being into Ancient Near Eastern Art, that's because I used to study the Ancient Near East in college, and I adore the art styles, it appeals to me on a very visceral level, so now Steve does, too.


End file.
